85R15253 MEW-F By: Hughes S.B. No. 1839 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT relating to the preparation, certification, and classification of public school educators. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. Section 21.043, Education Code, is amended to read as follows: Sec. 21.043. ACCESS TO PEIMS DATA. (a) The agency shall provide the board with access to data obtained under the Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS). (b) The agency shall provide educator preparation programs with data based on information reported through the Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) that enables an educator preparation program to: (1) assess the impact of the program; and (2) revise the program as needed to improve the design and effectiveness of the program. (c) The agency in coordination with the board shall solicit input from education preparation programs to determine information for educator preparation programs to report through the Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS). SECTION 2. Section 21.045, Education Code, is amended by adding Subsection (d) to read as follows: (d) To assist an educator preparation program in improving the design and effectiveness of the program in preparing educators for the classroom, the agency shall provide to each program any data reported by the program to the agency under Subsection (b) relating to the program that is compiled and analyzed by the agency. SECTION 3. Sections 21.052(a), (c), and (d), Education Code, are amended to read as follows: (a) The board may issue a certificate to an educator who applies for a certificate and: (1) holds: (A) a degree issued by an institution accredited by a regional accrediting agency or group that is recognized by a nationally recognized accreditation board; or (B) a degree issued by an institution located in a foreign country, if the degree is equivalent to a degree described by Paragraph (A); and (2) holds an appropriate certificate or other credential issued by another state or country for which the educator performed [; and [(3) performs] satisfactorily on [: [(A) the examination prescribed under Section 21.048; or [(B) if the educator holds a certificate or other credential issued by another state or country,] an examination [similar to and at least as rigorous as that described by Paragraph (A)] administered to the educator under the authority of that state that is similar to and at least as rigorous as the examination prescribed under Section 21.048. (c) The board may issue a temporary certificate under this section to an educator who holds a degree required by Subsection (a)(1), holds [and] a certificate or other credential required by Subsection (a)(2), and has complied with the criminal history record information review application requirement but who has not satisfied other application [the] requirements [prescribed by Subsection (a)(3)]. Subject to Subsection (d), the board may specify the term of a temporary certificate issued under this subsection. (d) A temporary certificate issued under Subsection (c) to an educator employed by a school district that has constructed or expanded at least one instructional facility as a result of increased student enrollment due to actions taken under the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990 (10 U.S.C. Section 2687) may not expire before the first anniversary of the date on which the board completes the review of the educator's credentials [and informs the educator of the examination or examinations under Section 21.048 on which the educator must perform successfully to receive a standard certificate]. SECTION 4. Section 30A.112(b), Education Code, is amended to read as follows: (b) The state virtual school network may provide or authorize providers of electronic professional development courses to provide professional development for: (1) teachers who are teaching subjects or grade levels for which the teachers are not certified; or (2) [teachers who must become highly qualified under Section 1119, No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (20 U.S.C. Section 6319); or [(3)] teachers who must become qualified under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. Section 1400 et seq.). SECTION 5. The following provisions of the Education Code are repealed: (1) Section 21.005; (2) Sections 21.052(e) and (g); and (3) Section 21.057(e). SECTION 6. Section 21.052, Education Code, as amended by this Act, applies only to an application submitted on or after the effective date of this Act. An application submitted before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect when the application was submitted, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.